Birders' Nest

[owlice]

And a few more...


Eastern Phoebe


Eastern Boxelder Bug
Oops


Either a Clouded or Orange Sulphur
Hey, it's got wings


Blue-winged Teal


Blue-winged Teal, reflections edition

[Elgarian Redux]

I am sorry, but that is NOT a "rubbish photo"!! That is an excellent photo of a very cute bird!! Lucky for you, to have Coal Tits, and apparently, the ability to tell Coal Tits from all the other similarly-festooned tits, too!! YAY!!

OK, well I can't argue with the best bird photographer I know .... but there's bird food spattered all over the place so it's all a bit messy!

Of the tit family, we get lots of blue tits, quite a few great tits, occasionally lots of long-tailed tits (either none at all, or a dozen), and there's usually a coal tit hanging around somewhere if you wait long enough. They are incredibly adorable fellows.

The House Sparrow is very pretty! They are much maligned in the US, but your photo shows what so many here don't want to acknowledge: these little birds are beautiful, and your capture of this one is gorgeous.

I agree completely about the house sparrows. They are lovely birds.

Oh, fun, to have young goldfinches to watch!! These are lovely shots, too!! Kudos!!

One of those little fellows had flown BANG! into the kitchen window yesterday, and we found him almost (not quite) unconscious on the floor below the window. I put some sunflower seeds near him and a dish of water, and left him alone. An hour later he had disappeared, and I am 99% certain that he was one of those splashing about in the bath. A sad tale with a happy ending.

YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY!!!!!

Yep. Pretty close to how we felt. He hung around for quite a while, perhaps the most admired bird in all of Lancashire, during that time.

The little birb almost everyone can name and everyone is happy to see!! And look how cute he is!!

'Look, look, I can splosh in the water too! It's not just those pesky goldfinches!'

All lovely shots, Elgarian! You definitely have the perfect camera for your needs, and use it very well!!

I couldn't ask for better reassurance than yours, O Owl!!

[Elgarian Redux]

Some recent wildlife sightings now including thread duty!


Chestnut-sided Warbler

Aha! Did you say warbler?!. Here, ladies and gentlemen, even the untrained eye of the ignoramus can just spot a hint of chestnut sides! Hence, we presume, the name?

Black-capped Chickadee
North American tits are called chickadees

I saw the photo, thought 'that's a tit, surely?' only to receive confirmation a millisecond later.

Dinosaur!!! One of four that were flying/feeding together.
Pileated Woodpecker

Oh yes. Red-capped birdosaur. No question.

Common Grackle

Never heard of 'em. Great name though. Slightly spooky bird.

American Robin wondering what the heck Elgarian is doing

He's still wondering why a bird that doesn't look anything like a robin is called a robin.

American Redstart wondering the same thing

He's thinking, 'what a lovely bird!'

Green Heron who had been wondering, but got distracted by nearby prey

Very sensible of him. I guess herons are nearly as wise as owls. (This one looks like a sort of souped-up racing heron.)

Another batch of wonderful photos of fascinating creatures. Why should anyone watch TV when they can spend time looking at these?

[Elgarian Redux]

And a few more...


Eastern Phoebe

Lovely bird - never heard of this, so looked it up. Related to flycatchers, it says here.

Eastern Boxelder Bug
Oops

Intriguing but a bit creepy (I'm a bit inclined that way with this sort of chap.)

Either a Clouded or Orange Sulphur
Hey, it's got wings

Exactly. And it's got delicate little rings on the underside of them. Charming.

Blue-winged Teal

Looking as calm as you like. As calm as ... ooh, as calm as a duck in calm water.

Blue-winged Teal, reflections edition

Two for the price of one. I'm all in favour. And the green reflections of leaves (??) in the water are spectacular.

Thrilling, truly. Thank you.

[Elgarian Redux]

I'm now home wishing I'd not left milk in the fridge.

The Owl has landed.
One small step for an Owl; one giant leap for bacteria growth in the fridge.

[owlice]

The Owl has landed.
One small step for an Owl; one giant leap for bacteria growth in the fridge.

hahahahahahaha!!! Sadly, so true!! I was expecting to be away for one week, not eight; the fridge contents were appropriate for the first duration, but not the second. The spiders worked to outdo the bacteria by having a party of their own; I walked into the house carrying stuff and walked through a festooning of spiderwebs.

And then got to wondering where all the spiders were... 

[Elgarian Redux]

And then got to wondering where all the spiders were... 

Well let's see, there's the one in your pocket, the one on your shoulder, the one hidden in your favourite chair ....

No, no, just kidding. All nonsense. They'll all have cleared off when they heard you come in.

[owlice]

Well let's see, there's the one in your pocket, the one on your shoulder, the one hidden in your favourite chair ....

No, no, just kidding. All nonsense. They'll all have cleared off when they heard you come in.

Oh, I wish that were true! I had to dispatch a few, and brush my hair a lot and et cetera to feel comfortable again!

OK, well I can't argue with the best bird photographer I know ....

Oh dear... we have got to find you more friends!! 

Of the tit family, we get lots of blue tits, quite a few great tits, occasionally lots of long-tailed tits (either none at all, or a dozen), and there's usually a coal tit hanging around somewhere if you wait long enough. They are incredibly adorable fellows.

All of them are incredibly adorable!!!

One of those little fellows had flown BANG! into the kitchen window yesterday, and we found him almost (not quite) unconscious on the floor below the window. I put some sunflower seeds near him and a dish of water, and left him alone. An hour later he had disappeared, and I am 99% certain that he was one of those splashing about in the bath. A sad tale with a happy ending.

Oof. I hope so. Poor birdie!

I couldn't ask for better reassurance than yours, O Owl!!

All of your photos are lovely. I'm so glad you've embarked on this project and you share the results with us!!

I have sometimes (OK, just once, but I mean to do it a bunch more times, I do, I do!) used Shutterfly to make a little book of some of my favorite trip photos. It's a wonderful memento, one easily shared with others (mostly because it's a manageable size and not big enough to scare these others).

Maybe you really should create a book for your year-long project. And knowing you, you might even make it a A Birds' Garden of Verses.

[owlice]

Penalty bird for neglect of thread duty
plus it's been taking up a tab forever


Red-billed Firefinch (Kenya)

[Elgarian Redux]

Penalty bird for neglect of thread duty
plus it's been taking up a tab forever


Red-billed Firefinch (Kenya)

That bird is incandescent! To pick it up you'd need to use oven gloves. What an amazing creature.

[owlice]

I was looking for something else and came across this Sentinel Lark pic, which made me lol, so I'm sharing it:


The radio in my head is playing Dancing Queen.

[Kalevala]

@owlice I love pileated woodpeckers; so striking looking!  And like that green heron in particular too.

You know, I don't think that I've ever tasted chestnuts before?  Your recipes sound yummy though!

There's a video on youtube (which I started watching) by a gentleman from Burnt Ridge Nursery.  He talks about some of the varieties that he's imported and planted--one of which doesn't open up easily on its own.  It must drive the squirrels crazy!

K

[owlice]

@owlice I love pileated woodpeckers; so striking looking!  And like that green heron in particular too.

You know, I don't think that I've ever tasted chestnuts before?  Your recipes sound yummy though!

There's a video on youtube (which I started watching) by a gentleman from Burnt Ridge Nursery.  He talks about some of the varieties that he's imported and planted--one of which doesn't open up easily on its own.  It must drive the squirrels crazy!

K

Pileated Woodpeckers are fabulous!! The Woody Woodpecker of woodpeckers; I always love seeing them. And Green Herons... well, sartorially, they do very well: nicely outlined feathers, great color palette -- very handsome birds! I usually see them folded up, as in that pic, but sometimes, they unfold themselves for a photo:


A rather painterly photo, but IMHO, worth it for that neck!

Re: chestnuts, I love them,¹ but they might be an acquired taste/one one needs to grow up with. That was much easier in the U.S. when chestnut trees were everywhere, but I suspect few in the U.S. of my generation, and many fewer of my son's, know the joy of chestnuts.

After writing the earlier post about chestnuts, I went out front to look at my tree; it is laden with burrs, and so far, there's no sign of squirrel destruction. Many of them will be barren, but some will, I hope, contain beautiful chestnuts.


A three-fer!! The max number of nuts in a burr varies by species; my tree, which came with the house, has a max of three, so this is a full house.



Beautiful chestnuts!

¹I learned the hard way that yes, yes, one can eat too many chestnuts in one sitting, so if you try them and like them, perhaps be more moderate than I!

[owlice]

Here's a relative (second cousin, I suppose) of the Pileated; this is a Pale-billed Woodpecker possibly before his morning cup o' joe.

[Kalevala]

Pileated Woodpeckers are fabulous!! The Woody Woodpecker of woodpeckers; I always love seeing them. And Green Herons... well, sartorially, they do very well: nicely outlined feathers, great color palette -- very handsome birds! I usually see them folded up, as in that pic, but sometimes, they unfold themselves for a photo:


A rather painterly photo, but IMHO, worth it for that neck!

Re: chestnuts, I love them,¹ but they might be an acquired taste/one one needs to grow up with. That was much easier in the U.S. when chestnut trees were everywhere, but I suspect few in the U.S. of my generation, and many fewer of my son's, know the joy of chestnuts.

After writing the earlier post about chestnuts, I went out front to look at my tree; it is laden with burrs, and so far, there's no sign of squirrel destruction. Many of them will be barren, but some will, I hope, contain beautiful chestnuts.


A three-fer!! The max number of nuts in a burr varies by species; my tree, which came with the house, has a max of three, so this is a full house.



Beautiful chestnuts!

¹I learned the hard way that yes, yes, one can eat too many chestnuts in one sitting, so if you try them and like them, perhaps be more moderate than I!

I'd hate to be the chiropractor that has to adjust it's neck!

I do love a number of different kinds of nuts so would be up to giving them a go.    Will have to watch the rest of that video at some point.  Quite informative!

K

[Elgarian Redux]

Red-billed Firefinch (Kenya)

Caption 1: "So? I live in a volcano. You wanna make somethin' o' that?"

Caption 2: "Come in, come in. Let me make you a nice cup of molten lava."

Caption 3: "Alright, alright ...[sigh]... what is this 'sunblock cream' you keep talking about?"

Caption 4: "I'm afraid I can't stay long, or this stone will start to melt."

Caption 5: "Don't you bring that bucket of water anywhere near me!"

Caption 6: "They pushed my brother into the river. He was quite put out."

[Elgarian Redux]

I was looking for something else and came across this Sentinel Lark pic, which made me lol, so I'm sharing it:


The radio in my head is playing Dancing Queen.

No question.

See that bird,
Watch that scene,
Diggin' the dancing queen.

[Elgarian Redux]

A rather painterly photo, but IMHO, worth it for that neck!

Hardly looks like the same bird, compared with the earlier jet-propelled version.

Re: chestnuts, I love them,¹ but they might be an acquired taste/one one needs to grow up with. That was much easier in the U.S. when chestnut trees were everywhere, but I suspect few in the U.S. of my generation, and many fewer of my son's, know the joy of chestnuts.

After writing the earlier post about chestnuts, I went out front to look at my tree; it is laden with burrs, and so far, there's no sign of squirrel destruction. Many of them will be barren, but some will, I hope, contain beautiful chestnuts.


A three-fer!! The max number of nuts in a burr varies by species; my tree, which came with the house, has a max of three, so this is a full house.



Beautiful chestnuts!

Must be great to have your own tree. In my book, stuffing isn't stuffing if it isn't chestnut stuffing.

I daresay they are easier to photograph than birds? Not so much of this: 'I have many photographs of empty bits of ground where a chestnut was, a microsecond earlier.'

[owlice]

Caption 6: "They pushed my brother into the river. He was quite put out."

hahahahaha!!! All good, but this one... !! hahahaha!!!

No question.

See that bird,
Watch that scene,
Diggin' the dancing queen.

Dancing Queen, indeed, but now that I'm fully caffeinated, I suspect Black Dog (Led Zeppelin) is a better fit for this hard-rockin' birb; look at that move!

Hardly looks like the same bird, compared with the earlier jet-propelled version.

I came across a folded-up Green Heron in the open, between two ponds, while walking one day; I stopped and stood still, just looking at him. I didn't want to spook him. The bird looked at me for a few moments, and then slowly extended his neck while also raising his body as much as he could; he was definitely letting me know he was a huge and fearsome creature (a dinosaur)! Yeah, shakin' in my hiking shoes, I was I was.  But he was surprisingly tall!

Must be great to have your own tree. In my book, stuffing isn't stuffing if it isn't chestnut stuffing.

I daresay they are easier to photograph than birds? Not so much of this: 'I have many photographs of empty bits of ground where a chestnut was, a microsecond earlier.'

I agree about the stuffing!! And what I really need is two trees, because they need to cross-pollinate to bear fruit. Clearly there's at least one other chestnut tree somewhere near, but having another in my own yard...

And yes, chestnuts are easier to photograph!

Some days, I swear I'm going to switch to geology, because rocks don't move (or at least, not usually very quickly)!

[owlice]

You want incandescent? Do any of these appeal?


Hepatic Tanager (Arizona)


Flame-colored Tanager (Costa Rica)


Altamira Oriole (Texas)


Summer Tanager (Costa Rica)


Scarlet Tanager (Ohio)


Baltimore Oriole (Belize)